The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance

Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success, Sports Illustrated senior writer David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle.

Revival: A Novel

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs - including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession.

Definitely not from David Morse. For some reason images of Winnie the Pooh appear in my head as he narrates. He sounds very much like Pooh bear.

Has Revival turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes, to a certain degree it has. This is my first Steven King book, and it wasn't a good experience. His success obviously suggests otherwise, so I'm sure I'll give him a try in the future, but not for now.

The Martian

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?"

Black Site: A Delta Force Novel

Meet Kolt Raynor. A Delta Force operator and one-time American hero, he is still trying to make sense of his life - and duty - after a secret mission gone bad. Three years ago, in the mountains of Pakistan, Raynor made a split-second decision to disobey orders - one that got some of his teammates killed and the rest captured. Now he’s been given a second chance to do right by his country, his men, and himself. But Raynor’s shot at redemption comes at a price.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in black ops and good stories. The story line is very well put together, with great character development. The author has a great way of putting right in the action and cheering on some people while hating others. This is a great book and could be a blockbuster movie tomorrow.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Black Site?

***SPOILER*** As you are reading, you know that Raynor is going to come back to his senses and become the elite fighter he once was. But the story line was still unexpected and had me cheering Raynor on as he took everything to a new level.

Have you listened to any of Ari Fliakos’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I have not, but Ari did an excellent job of putting the listener in the moment.

Sycamore Row

Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten, will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly?

Where does Sycamore Row rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is not my favorite Grisham book, but it is still very good. I would rank this in the top 10 books that I've listened to.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Michael Beck?

Michael Beck is excellent at portraying different characters, but I found his narration to be slightly monotonous when he was not in character. He;s one of the best when it comes to playing different characters, however.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely. This is a fairly lengthy book and I flew through it, listening whenever I had a spare moment.

Any additional comments?

Anybody in the legal profession will find that John Grisham does not shed a very favorable light on their line of work. However, he does a great job of creating compelling stories inside the legal framework that tug you in different, thought provoking directions.

On October 25, 2011, aid worker Jessica Buchanan was kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom by an organized band of Somali land pirates. For the next three months, Jessica was terrorized by more than two dozen gangsters. Every terrifying moment Jessica spent suffering in captivity was matched by that of her adoring husband working behind the scenes to deal with her captors. Finally, on January 25, 2012, President Barack Obama ordered a rescue operation by a team of 24 Navy SEALs. Impossible Odds is a harrowing and heart-wrenching memoir of Jessica's kidnapping, her three months in captivity, and her rescue by the Navy SEALs.

This was an incredible example of what goes through the mind of a captive. The detailed account of how Jessica worked so hard to stay mentally fit and present is revealing, enlightening and striking. Understanding what was happening on all sides of the kidnapping was interesting as well. Jessica and the other authors allow us to experience the ordeal with her, with the kidnappers and with her husband and family.

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

Unfortunately I can give the performance only 2 stars. Candace played Jessica's voice, and she did a great job with the emotion of the situation. However; her staccato, William Shatner "esk" style of speaking distracted me and I never quite got used to it. She had a tendency to turn One. Sentence. Into multiple. Sentences. Usually I can quickly get used to the new style of a performer, but I couldn't get past Candace's style with this book.

I don't know who the other narrator was, but I found his performance to sound too much like an anchorman on the evening news.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

There were a couple of slow areas in the book, but for the most part, I wanted to continue to listen. The suspense of the negotiations and how it would all end built consistently throughout the book.

Any additional comments?

If you are considering this book to better understand an in depth account of how she was rescued, I would suggest you do not purchase it. However, if an account of how she was kidnapped, and the terrible conditions she suffered during those 93 days in Somalia interests you, I would recommend it highly. But due to the lacking performance of the narrators, I suggest you purchase this with a credit.

The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America's Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices are not appeased....

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